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Psychometric properties of the Chinese (Cantonese) Tinnitus Handicap Inventory
A C S Kam1, A P P Cheung, P Y B Chan
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. annakam@ent.cuhk.edu.hk
Objectives:
To establish the reliability and validity of the Chinese (Cantonese) version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory to measure the self-perceived handicapping effect and severity of the condition in patients with chronic tinnitus.
Design:
Cross-sectional psychometric validation study.
Setting:
Audiology clinics in a hospital setting.
Participants:
Subjects were 114 adult Chinese who attended the audiology clinics with a complaint of tinnitus.
Main Outcome Measures:
Test-retest and internal consistency reliability; construct validity.
Results:
The Chinese version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory and its subscales showed good internal consistency reliabilities (alpha = 0.72-0.94) that are comparable to those of the original version. High correlations were observed between the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory and psychological distress, tinnitus-related problem ratings and severity ratings. Factor analysis showed that the Chinese version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory has a unifactorial structure. A high degree of test-retest reliability was observed (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.88).
Conclusions:
The results suggest that the Chinese (Cantonese) version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory is a reliable and valid measure of general tinnitus-related distress that can be used in clinical settings to quantify the impact of tinnitus on daily life.
